


Becomes a Better One

by pantsoffdanceoff



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Death, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 05:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9703619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pantsoffdanceoff/pseuds/pantsoffdanceoff
Summary: “I thought it was just a story,” said Jess, awed. “The memory tree. They say that it grows on dreams and memories the way other trees live on light and water.”“How does it work?” said Rey, looking up at winding boughs.“Place a palm on Her trunk, and think of a memory.”A memory. Rey shifted through her memories, but before she could come up with a good one, a happy one, Jess stepped forward, placing one slender hand against the rough bark. A pulse of sunrise-pink light wriggled up the trunk like fireworks, forking into a starburst of leaves, sparkling away into nothing.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Wavesinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wavesinger/gifts).



> _Soon I'll be sixty years old, my daddy got sixty-one_   
>  _Remember life and then your life becomes a better one_
> 
> \- [7 Years, by Lukas Graham](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCob76kigA)
> 
>    
>  **Warning:** Leia dies in this one. It's not graphic or on-screen, but if you don't want to read about death or its aftermath, please hit the back button.

Life in the Resistance moved fast. Rey had barely returned from training with Luke Skywalker (training! With Luke Skywalker!), when she’d been swept up in the relentless pace of daily life at the base.

“First Order scouts spotted on Aquilae,” read Snap from his datapad, “Intelligence has requested Black Squadron to deploy, with Millennium Falcon as support.”

It was their fourth deployment in as many standard weeks, between training, maintenance and chores. Rey tapped Jess on the shoulder, and whispered, “Are there usually this many missions?”

“Shine wearing off, huh?” said Jess, laughing, until her face softened at Rey’s alarm. “We’re a bit swamped, but it also means we’ve got ’em on their heels. They’re running out of friendly planets to hide their bases.”

“They were putting a lot of hope into that Starkiller Base, weren’t they?” said Rey.

Poe called, before Jess could answer, “Hey, we going or burning jet fuel warming the hangar?”

He had one foot in his cockpit. Karé and Snap were already strapped in, running through their preflight checklist. Jess flipped her braid over a shoulder and called back, “Cool your jets, Dameron, we’re coming.”

She leaned in close to Rey and muttered, “Bantha-driver,” winking when Rey laughed.

There were six enemy scouts tagged on the Falcon’s radar, two TIE scouts and the rest converted survey ships. Rey and the Black Squadron had snuck in with their backs to Aquilae’s two suns, too low for First Order radar and too small against the glare for normal vision.

“We know for sure the survey ships aren’t civilians?” said Karé.

“Local intel say they’re with the Scout Troopers,” said Poe, “Could be decoys; could be mercenaries.”

 “Translation: fire at will,” said L’ulo, “Unless my bureaucratese is rusty.”

There was a crackle over the coms. The starfighters were already swooping away, their wingtips barely grazing the frond-like tops of the trees in a formation she didn’t know how to join. Before Rey could panic, though, Jess said, “You ever go mynock-hunting, Millennium Falcon?”

“What in the world is a mynock?” said Rey.

“Kriffing power-sucking wastoids, is what they are,” grumbled Snap. His X-wing was already out of sight, but she could see them on her radar, like beads on a necklace, or a noose ready to tighten.

“Just need you to rustle them up,” said Jess, “Fly low and scare ‘em straight up.”

Rey pushed down on her throttle, shooting past the leafy treetops so fast they were a green blur. A flock of something white scattered to her right, but she ignored them, opening the throttle until the deckboards rattled, until the trees suddenly dropped away to reveal a crystal-clear lake.

The TIE scouts were already gunning for the purple skies, the slower and older surveyors limping behind, blasting temporary craters into the water below them.

The Falcon stalled, so close to the water she could smell the freshwater spray (to know that freshwater and saltwater smell different!), before the next gear kicked into place and she rocketed upwards, toward where the Black Squadron fighters were lighting up the sky like fireworks.

Jess’s voice cut in with a whoop. “Atta girl, Millennium Falcon! That’s how you fly with the best pilot in the galaxy.”

“I seem to have heard that from someone else before,” said Rey. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling. She wiped her clammy palms on her flight suit.

Jess said, “Oh, has Black Leader been telling lies again?”

“Skies clear, radar’s clear,” said L'ulo. Rey’s radar showed his A-wing circling back to join their formation.

“Looks like we’re heading home, folks,” said Poe, “Except for you, Black Three. You’re checking in with medcenter for memory loss first. Who was it that won the Anoat Belt race again?”

“Oh boy, here we go again,” muttered Karé.

“Uh, you’re the one with memory loss,” said Jess. “It was clearly a tie.”

The argument carried them all the way back to the Resistance base, and nearly into the Intelligence meeting. General Organa looked up from her holoscreen. “Well?” she said.

“Threat has been eliminated, General,” said Poe, clearing his throat, “No injuries or damage to the vessels.” He looked at Rey. “And I’d like to request X-wing pilot training for Rey.”

“Request denied,” said the General, rubbing at her chest.

Poe opened his mouth, closed it, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “With all due respect, General, we need that spot on the Red Squadron filled.”

“Which is why I’ve promoted Oddy Muva to the position,” said the General.

“Oh,” said Poe, his face lightening up. “Well, that’s fantastic news.”

“You can congratulate him later,” said the General, “There have been more sightings of First Order ships on Ttaz. I was planning on sending White Squadron, but they have their hands full at the moment,” She sighed, rubbing her shoulder. “The mission plan will be uploaded to your datapads. Check with Inventory before you take off.”

The squadron trooped off, dismissed. Rey hesitated.

“Yes?” said the General.

“I-I don’t mean to be rude,” said Rey, “But are you feeling well, General?”

“Oh, this?” said the General. She pressed a hand to her chest again. “It’ll pass.”

“Rey?” called Jess from somewhere down the hall.

Rey looked at the General again, and, not knowing what to do, gave a clumsy bob of her head and fled.

\---

“Don’t think mynock-hunting’s going to work here,” grumbled Jess.

Ttaz looked more like Jakku than Aquilae, stark black mountain ridges crisscrossing the planet-wide desert. A few wispy clouds floated past as they drifted in orbit.

“I’m not seeing a thing on my radar,” said Snap, “You think they might be using a cloaker?”

They couldn’t be. A cloaking device would be useless in a sandstorm, like the maelstrom she could see swirling on the sunward side, lit by the blazing rays of the planet’s blue-white star. She felt parched just looking at it. Wait. “Or they could be in the radio shadow of a mountain,” said Rey over the coms.

“Well, that narrows it down to a few hundred thousand square klicks,” said Poe.

There was a junction between two ranges, where the light rocks meant water, and the mountains would shield them from the worst of the storms. “Or maybe just five,” said Rey. She transmitted the location to the team. “There’s gotta be an oasis there.”

The scouts never even saw them drop out of the roiling dust clouds.

“Fastest run I’ve been on yet,” said Karé. “This calls for a drink.”

They flew into the Resistance Base on the night side of D’Qar, but instead of the sleepy gamma shift greeting them, Rey tromped down the ramp of the Millennium Falcon into a hangar teeming with activity. Jess appeared out of nowhere, her face drawn, waving at Rey for her to follow.

“What’s going on?” said Rey, to Oddy, who had joined them.

“The General,” said Oddy, his tentacles an odd grey-yellow, “She--”

“What do you mean, she’s dead?” Poe half-shouted. His voice echoed through the hangar.

Maybe everyone in the hallway stopped dead. Maybe it was just Rey. Everything narrowed down to the ringing in her ears. Her own breathing, too loud. Snapshots.

Poe, still standing on the wing of his X-wing, shouting.

Jess’s lips, pinched and white.

The fraying hem of Oddy’s maintenance suit.

Light, dark, light, dark, like rays, rays of--

“Rey!”

Rey nearly tipped off her chair. She blinked around her at the packed mess hall, still filling up with people. Jess pressed a cup into her hand, so hot Rey could feel the heat through the molded plastifoam. She took a sip and wheezed.

“Secret pilot recipe. Helps with shock,” said Jess.

“I’ll say,” said Rey, blinking back tears. It burned her nose and her throat going down, with a sugary aftertaste that coated her mouth. L’ulo sat across from her, shoulder to shoulder with Snap, nursing their own mugs, along with other veterans of Taul, Suraz...Yavin. She took another sip, and then put the cup down. “Hey, I’m just going to step out for some air.”

The hallway was only slightly better. She paced, trying to calm her breathing, the way Luke had taught her, which had the opposite effect. Did he know? Did anyone tell him? Did they expect her to break the--

Rey nearly tripped over someone in an alcove.

It was Finn, who looked just as startled to see her, BB-8 at his heels. “What are you doing--” they both started. “You first,” said Rey, just as Finn said, “Sorry, go ahead.”

They stared at each other. Finn was propped against the wall, his back bent at an angle that suggested discomfort. He ducked further in the shadows, as someone rounded the corner, someone more deserving to be in that room. Rey shook her head to clear it, uncrossing her arms. “Guess we’re both here for the same reason, yeah?”

Finn shrugged his good shoulder, which was as good a response as any.

“Um,” said a voice behind them. The sounds of footsteps reversed, coming towards them. “Excuse me.”

It was Romas, the Communications ensign, clutching a datapad to his chest. “Do you know where I can find Commander Dameron?”

“I can pass on the message,” said Rey, trying to remember if she saw Poe in the mess hall.

Romas chewed on his lip. “I’m not really supposed to tell anyone else. It’s a mission assignment.”

“Is it urgent?” said Finn, straightening. He winced. BB-8 beeped in alarm.

Romas wavered for another moment, glancing between the three of them, before he caved. “Scouts were spotted on Ophuchi. They’re not sure how many, but they’ve requested a starfighter.”

“Just one ship?” said Rey.

Romas nodded.

“I’ll go,” said Rey. “No,” she said, as Romas opened his mouth to argue, “The Falcon can handle air maneuvers as well as any X-wing, and Commander Dameron is in no shape to fight. Besides,” she said, swallowing past her suddenly-thick throat, “he should be here for the funeral.”

“But--” said Romas, just as BB-8 warbled triumphantly that it’d downloaded the mission packet for her.

“Thank you,” she said.

Meatbags take too long to negotiate, BB-8 replied primly.

Romas sighed. “I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

BB-8 bumped into his leg conciliatorily, ushering him into the mess hall. Rey caught bits and snatches of a story involving Pheryon.

Finn wrapped a hand around her wrist. “Hey.”

“Are you going to try to stop me too?” said Rey.

Finn shook his head. He’d become so quiet since Starkiller Base. “Just...be careful. The First Order doesn’t take kindly to frustration. They’ll run away for a while, cut their losses, but,” he looked away, rubbing his arm, “But then they’ll resort to scorched earth tactics if they feel threatened enough.”

Rey hugged him. “Thank you,” she said. “I will.”

It felt straight, to run through her preflight checklist in silence. In the few standard months she had been living on D’Qar, she’d already gotten used to the chatter of Black Squadron all around her as she checked the lights and gauges. But her hands still knew the motions, even if her mind wandered, and the Falcon took off, smoother than she once had, into the sunrise.

Something clunked in the gun turret. Maybe she’d let her mind wander too much. Rey grabbed the tool belt and climbed down the ladder and--

And nearly bumped into someone.

“Wait!” yelped Jess, ducking as Rey swung on instinct.

“What are you doing here?” said Rey. It was too late to jump back through hyperspace. Ophuchi was already a glowing dot out the windshield.

“Well, you need someone to man the gun turret, don’t you?” said Jess, offering her the ghost of a smile. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to be a stowaway.”

Rey stuffed the wrench back into her belt, stepping aside for Jess. “Well, at least stowaway in the cockpit with me. The only radio stations out here are traffic reports.”

\---

“Kalpatar Tower, this is Millennium Falcon,” said Jess over the coms. Rey fiddled with a loose corner of trim, half an ear on the ATIS repeating itself as she watched details appear in the forest carpeting Ophuchi as far as the eye could see as they descended. Somewhere in the swaying green landscape was the capital Kalpatar.

“Millennium Falcon, Kalpatar Tower, what is your purpose for landing?” came the crackling reply.

Jess pulled up the datapad. “We were hoping to speak to Dr. Nkteor,” she read, “To set up an appointment on the fly.”

The radio crackled and hissed. The trees sparkled with flashes of purple. “That can be arranged. Millennium Falcon, go ahead.”

Rey leaned forward. “Millennium Falcon is eight klicks west Kalpatar four thousand klicks.  Information Fynock. Inbound for landing.”

“Winds are one eight five at five, altimeter two eight point four nine.  Cleared straight in Hangar Three.”

Rey made the course corrections, skimming over a winding river as she banked, trees thinning, and then--

“Oh wow,” she breathed.

Kalpatar glittered like a labyrinth of gold, spiraling inwards towards the grandest tree of them all, its canopy shading half of the city from the light of Ophuchi’s first sun.

Something was different about its leaves.

“Are its leaves glowing?” said Jess, as they lowered the ramp. Rey squinted.

“Good observation,” said a woman almost as wizened as Maz Kanata. She clasped their hands between two of her own four. “I am Ondu. Come, let us eat.”

Jess and Rey exchanged a look. “I don’t mean to be rude,” said Rey, “but we’d like to make that appointment with Dr. Nkteor.”

Ondu smiled. “To fool those who listen over the radio, we must use code. Here, under the shade of the Kalpatar, we share as one.” She waved a hand to encompass the branches stretching above them, all the colors of the rainbow twinkling among the dark leaves.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Rey. There was something in Ondu’s voice that brooked no argument. “We’d like to get a closer look at the scouts’ movements, so we know what we’re up against.”

“Of course. The reports will be shared,” said Ondu. “But for now, as new friends, we share stew,” She stopped at the foot of the Kalpatar tree. “And a memory.”

Jess took a step forward. “I thought it was just a story,” she said, awed.

“What was?” said Rey.

“The memory tree,” said Jess, “They say that it grows on dreams and memories the way other trees live on light and water.”

 “Very good,” said Ondu, “We give Her our memories, and She gives us shelter, protection and food.”

Rey could hear her reverence for the tree, its boughs winding high above them. “How does it work?”

“Place a palm on Her trunk, and think of a memory,” said Ondu.

A memory. Rey shifted through her memories, but before she could come up with a good one, a happy one, Jess stepped forward, placing one slender hand against the rough bark. A pulse of sunrise-pink light wriggled up the trunk like fireworks, forking into a starburst of leaves, sparkling away into nothing.

“May Her fruit grow sweet,” said Ondu, nodding, and led them into a wide, spacious hall.

On the one hand, it was somewhat like the Resistance Base’s mess hall, with long rows of tables, and groups of people eating and chatting. On the other, it was very much not like it at all, as the table surface slid away to reveal wide, oval bowls of smooth wood, filled with a steaming orange stew, pungent and spicy-smelling.

A squat, grizzled man handed Ondu a stack of flimsi, which she passed to Rey as she tried to find a comfortable seating position. It was a meticulous record of observations, complete with time, locations, times of day, position of moon--

“Your Majesty,” said Ondu, rising to her feet. Rey and Jess scrambled to follow.

A somewhat familiar-looking woman floated down the hall, her cerlin robes flowing behind her. She said, “Please sit, my friends. How is my cousin, Leia?”

Rey opened her mouth, but no sound would come out. Jess set her spoon down.

“Oh,” said the Queen. Rey felt the gentle brush of the Force through her memories. “I am so sorry. She was well-loved.”

“We’re sorry you had to find out this way,” Jess’s voice broke. “Your Majesty. I’m sure the envoy is--”

Klaxons blared all around them.

Guiding lights flared to life on the floor, leading back to the hangar. A soldier dashed up to Ondu and saluted. “General Make, First Order fighters have been spotted off the shore of Parijat, three TIE fighters and a TIE scout. We’ve mobilized--”

“There are starfighters this time?” said Jess. Ondu and the soldier both looked at her as she stood. “Ond--General, we’d like to request permission to assist your fleet. This is what we came for, to help.”

Ondu nodded. “Cpt. Mandan will fill you in along the way.”

Strapped in, keyed into the right channel, and waiting for her turn on the runway, Rey felt a kick of--of life. She felt like she could laugh, like she could cry finally, emotions pouring through her veins like jet fuel through the Falcon’s choke in that gut-dropping moment as they lifted into the air.

Jess let out a whoop, grinning fiercely when Rey turned to look at her.

Rey couldn’t put into words how she felt at the moment, her heart four sizes too big for her chest, but Jess slung an arm over her shoulder, so it felt alright to hug her back, reveling, after the initial shock, in her new freedom to touch.

The coms crackled. “You ever go mynock-hunting, Millennium Falcon?” said Mandan’s voice, staticky.

Rey put a hand over her mic so she didn’t giggle manically on air. “No, but I think I get the gist of it.”

The Ophuchians’ Delta-7s spread out like the jaws of a skittermice trap. “Roger that, Millennium Falcon. Ready when you are.”

Jess unbuckled her straps.

“Oh,” said Rey, “You want to change seats?”

“Change--” Jess squinted in confusion. “Oh, no. Someone should man the turret, right?”

Rey said, “I thought you were the best pilot in the galaxy.”

“And don’t you forget it,” said Jess. “I’m not a bad shot either. Besides,” Jess put a hand, callused and warm, on Rey’s shoulder. “The Falcon’s your ship. You should be the one flying her.”

She slid down the handrails of the ladder, her feet never touching the steps.

“Show off,” muttered Rey under her breath, and then clicked on her coms. “Ready, Lotus Leader.”

She pushed down on the throttle, rocketing forward almost before he confirmed.

The TIE fighters were faster this time, but still no match for the speedy Delta-7s, and with Jess gunning them from behind, the battle was almost over before it started.

“Anything on the radar?” said Mandan.

“Nothing, boss,” said Lotus Two, “I think we’re good to--wait.” There was the crackle of static. “They’re using shielding tech. The radar's showing nothing.”

Rey looked down in surprise. The entire fleet was missing from the radar map, the radar circling and finding nothing.

Mandan said, “Ready the EMP gun.”

“Roger that, Lotus Leader,” said Lotus five.

There was the distinction sound of the electromagnetic pulse gun powering up, and then Lotus Two’s panicked voice cut in, “They’re right above the Kalpatar!”

A TIE phantom materialized out of thin air, its cloaking falling away, a few hundred feet above the sacred tree. From this distance, Rey could just make out two tiny dots dropping out of its weapons hatch, falling silently.

“Lotus Two, Lotus Three, on my six!” shouted Mandan, already jetting away. “Lotus Four, Five, Six, take the Phantom.”

The fighters shot through the air, chasing after the ever-falling missiles.

From the air, a missile strike could look as peaceful as a rock dropping in water, a ring of disturbed air expanding like ripples in a still pond, until both the shock wave and the booming roar hit the Millennium Falcon, nearly sending it flipping end on end.

Rey charged through the battering waves of air, fighting to keep the Falcon on track. Jess appeared at her side, a smudge of grease marking her face, her eyes hard as flint. The TIE phantom was nowhere in sight, the Delta-7s circling in confusion.

The Kalpatar tree was engulfed in flames.

“Get us back to the lake,” said Jess.

“We have to help,” said Rey.

“Of course we’re helping,” snapped Jess, “Get us back to the lake.”

Rey felt like she was running with her tail between her legs, but she turned the Millennium Falcon a full one-eighty degrees. “What’s the plan?”

“Drop the rest of the missiles,” said Jess, “We’re filling up the weapons bay with water.”

Oh. Rey could see the shape of her plan, as she released the entire missile load. The bombs sprayed geysers as they were dropped in the water. Rey said, “I have to warn you, I don’t know how waterproof the Falcon is.”

“I’ll caulk her if I need to,” said Jess, deadpan.

Rey lowered them carefully onto the surface of the lake, the water bubbling all around them as water rushed into the opened weapons bay, until the rim sank below the surface. Rey closed the hatch and slowly opened up the throttle. The Falcon whined, struts creaking as she fought against gravity, until she finally rose, heavily, above the treetops.

Rey let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

The fire had grown even bigger, engulfing half the city. Rey opened her chutes as soon as she saw flames, dousing everything in a fine mist. It didn’t even make a dent in the fire.

Jess gave a low whistle.

“We’re going to need a lot more water,” agreed Rey, faintly.

“Millennium Falcon,” said Mandan over the coms, “Status report.”

“We can help fight the fire, but we’d appreciate any help if you have any larger cargo ships,” said Rey. Jess mouthed something at her. “That have the thrust to carry a couple tons of water. How’s the, um,” Rey swallowed. Scorched earth tactics, Finn had said. “Is everyone down there okay?”

Rey landed on the lake again, the Falcon burbling as she filled up. It wasn’t until she was pulling up, putting the ship through her paces that Mandan replied, “Three vehicles have been dispatched to your location. As for your other question, we’re still assessing the wounded.” He paused. “But everyone is alive and accounted for. Thank you.”

A freight ship and two transporters flew past them, skimming the surface of Lake Parijat.

\---

They worked until sundown, the only light the embers of the smoldering ruins, until even that went out. Only then did Rey follow Jess out of the Millennium Falcon, her legs rubbery with exhaustion. The faces that greeted them were all the same color of soot, somber but resigned.

“Come,” said one of them, and it wasn’t until she spoke that Rey recognized Ondu. “Let us see the tree.”

A small crowd had gathered, a respectable distance from blacked tree, fallen on its side. She hadn’t realized it was dead.

Rey turned to Ondu. “I’m so--”

A hand on her forearm stopped her. Without looking away from the tree, Ondu said, “Watch.”

As she spoke, one of the Ophuchians stepped forward, their footsteps slow but measured, touching the tree softly in a moment of what looked like bowed prayer. Another one followed, and then a third, in an order Rey couldn’t begin to fathom. Around them, the wind blew yellowed leaves and sand.

Ondu nudged her forward. “It is your turn.”

Rey stepped forward, awkwardly. Glancing about her, she traced the others’ steps, coming to the fallen trunk of the Kalpatar tree.

Up close, it looked even worse, cracks in the wood revealing it had been burnt to charcoal all the way through. She placed a palm on the wood, and it crumbled, the outer bark flaking away.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the tree, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you. We should have known it was a trap from the start, kept a sentry near you, or--”

A melody sprang to mind, a woman’s softly singing. _Rockabye, rockabye, baby, all the way home_. She couldn’t remember her face, but other details were coming back to her. The warm feeling of being loved and full, the gentle sway of her cradle, the dappled light coming through the leaves as a bird called somewhere far away.

The wood under her palm grew warm and smooth. Rey opened her eyes to find herself holding a globe, faintly glowing with mottled, green-white light.

The Ophuchians had all left without a word. She stood alone in the middle of the decayed city, with Jess and Ondu. Even the trees looked barer than they had that afternoon. A strong wind blew--one that she would associate with dust storms if they were on Jakku.

“Where did everyone go?” said Rey, “Who do I--this just appeared in my hands.”

“It is a gift from Kalpatar,” said Ondu. “You will do with it what you will do with it.”

“But I--” Rey’s eyes stung in the gritty air.

Ondu’s hand closed around her forearm again, hard enough that Rey was forcefully reminded that she was speaking to a seasoned soldier. “You will be strong, so that the Kalpatar will be strong. You will have good memories, so that the Kalpatar will bear good fruit. You have been given a gift, so you must gift Her in turn.”

Rey nodded, mutely.

Something crashed in the darkness. Jess said, “That sounded like a tree. Is the wind really that strong?”

“What’s happening to the city?” said Rey.

“Ophuchi is a desert planet,” said Ondu. “The only tree with roots deep enough to hold the soil is the Kalpatar. When She dies, the desert returns.”

“But the fire didn’t spread all the way out to the forest,” said Jess.

Ondu shook her head. “All Kalpatar were once one tree. The only way She spreads is through seeds.” She nodded at the globe in Rey’s hands. “And through daughter trees spreading from Her roots. And when the mother tree dies...”

Another tree fell. The sand hissed as it spilled towards them.

Mandan appeared out of the darkness. Ondu said, gently, “You should go now, before the winds keep you on the ground.”

\---

For once, Rey wished flying took more busy work. As it was, though, she only had to be in the cockpit until they made the jump to hyperspace, and then the Falcon took over. A couple of the struts had loosened from their bolts, and the hydraulic system was leaking, but after fixing them, there was nothing urgent that needed her attention.

Jess found her labeling the tangled wires of the circuitry bay.

“Okay, you can stop hiding from me now,” she said, squeezing into the tight fit between walls next to Rey. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not--” Rey dropped her pen. She had to bend sideways to retrieve it. “I’m not hiding from you.”

Turned out Jess’s raised eyebrows were just as visible out of the corner of her eye.

Rey signed. “I’m just trying not to think about the Kalpatar, and the Ophuchi and, and--”

“And General Organa,” said Jess.

Rey froze, eyeing the exit that Jess had blocked. “Someone had to take the mission.”

“I’m starting to sense a real martyr complex here,” said Jess, “Did Luke Skywalker teach you that too, or did you come by it honestly?”

“Wow, I thought you weren’t allowed to snark about your hero like that,” said Rey.

“Only when people I care about are hurting,” said Jess, more seriously than Rey was expecting.

Rey looked up at that, but Jess was studying the bundles of wire. Jess said, “What in the world is CoQu-3?”

Jess had a big heart--Rey knew this. Rey had always known this. She could be as tough and serious as any Jedi pilot, but once she decided she wanted to care about someone, she would fight tooth and nail for them, even when it hurt her.

“You should have been at the funeral,” said Rey, softly.

Jess finally turned to look at her. Her brown eyes were clear and still. “So should've you.”

“ _Why_?” said Rey, baffled.

Jess's face flipped to annoyance in an instant. “Wow, you really are--” Jess glared as she leaned in towards Rey, saying, a hair’s breadth from her face. “Tell me if this is okay."

Rey’s stomach fluttered. “Huh?” she said, and gasped when Jess’s lips touched her own.

“You’re always so quiet,” said Jess, between kisses, “And aloof.” She ran rough knuckles against Rey’s jaw. “But then you go out and do things like--” She gasped when Rey’s hands found bare skin under the edges of her flight suit. “Like ask after people you’ve never met.” Her hair was falling out of its braid under Rey’s hands, smooth as dreamsilk. “Or _apologize to trees_.”

“Did you know?” said Rey, “It comforted me.” Jess swiped a thumb against Rey’s cheek, coming away wet. “I killed it, and it tried to give me a good memory instead.”

Jess’s mouth opened under hers, her tongue sweeping almost soothingly against Rey’s. “Good,” said Jess, as the fire banked under Rey’s skin. “You’re one of ours, so it had better have behaved.”

Rey sniffed wetly, but Jess didn’t laugh at her. Instead, she cupped Rey’s chin and deepened the kiss.

\---

The alpha crew greeted them as they arrived at the Resistance Base, a quick wave of the hand as they outfitted White Squadron for a new mission. The corridors were busy, but bustling with purpose. They made their after-mission report to Admiral Ackbar.

Life moved on, at the Resistance’s swift pace.

Jess led Rey to the surface, past the cemeteries, with its neat rows of plaques, tombstones and other markers. The Jedi memorial stood at the end, a semi-circle of polished granite lined with rows and columns of niches open to the air, only half of them filled.

Jess stopped before one, engraved with General Organa’s name.

“Hi, General, we’ve come to see you,” said Jess, cheerfully. “And we’ve bought you a gift.”

Rey cradled the Kalpatar seed awkwardly, as Jess slowly shuffled around the inside of the memorial, poking at the dirt at odd intervals.

Finally she chose a spot. They dug a hole about twice as deep as the seed and covered it.

“Did I ever tell you the story about the General and the mystery stew?” said Rey, as Jess chose a spot warmed by sunlight, patting the grass next to her.

“No,” said Jess, “Where’d you hear it?”

“I didn’t hear it, I was there.” Rey sat, stretching her legs before her. Jess’s fingers threaded between hers, gritty with engine oil and soil. “Anyway, remember that one day Oddy came screaming out of the mess hall?”

The dirt above the Kalpatar seed glowed faintly. The sun warmed the back of Rey’s neck.


End file.
